Dance and Game
by UchidaKarasu
Summary: The Yondaime Mizukage--commonly known as Yagura, the jinchūriki of the Sanbi--has a past with a man despite the enmity between their nations...the elusive Copy-nin, Hatake Kakashi. KakashixYagura. Rated M for a reason. CURRENTLY ON HIATUS.
1. Prologue: Remembrance

-Prologue-

_Remembrance_

_Present_

A young figure walked along the corridors of the Mizukage building in the city of Kirigakure no Sato, steps brisk and yet unhurried while sharp magenta eyes focussed intently on the door at the end of the hallway. His steps were silent, a mere breath of sound coming from the rustle of his clothing against his staff that attached to the strap around his shoulder and waist. If it wouldn't have been for the sight of the young male himself, the ANBU operatives wouldn't have been aware of his existence.

He reached the door, the door opening immediately by one of the masked guards so he could walk through without having to ask. Although easily a foot shorter than the masked guards in the inside of the room, in which the young figure entered, he strode in with obvious importance and superiority, and the armoured security recognised his authority.

The room consisted of a black, tear shaped table, charcoal in colour, with twelve blue chairs surrounding it. All but one of the chairs were occupied, by various council members in the nation of Kirigakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Mist. The deep blue walls surrounded the people sitting in stony silence, the ceilings tall and open and shrouded in shadows due to the lack of a concrete light source. The single light sat at the centre of the table, a paper lantern giving a light aquamarine glow on the faces of the occupants.

The young figure sat down at the ball of the teardrop table, the point of the table on the opposite side of the room as him. The sharp tip of the teardrop faced the doorway out of the room, and six by six sat on either side, faces turned towards his own with the same expressionless features.

He laced his fingers together upon the cool, shiny surface of the table and said softly, "I declare this meeting in session." His voice, a light and wispy sound, echoed in the room regardless of the lack of volume in it. The others present would've heard it no matter the cost, mostly because most shinobi had superb hearing and the mere fact that if they asked him to repeat himself, they would promptly die. He continued after a small pause, magenta eyes glancing at all of the attendees present, his voice just as soft as before, "On the matter of the Akatsuki, does anyone have any intel of this group?"

The man on the young figure's left farthest down on the table straightened up in his chair. Large man, with large teeth and large eyes and a large everything, down to the size of his fingernails and the cord of his seaweed green hair. The man, named Takeo Joji, was the head of intel for the entire country. He had many connections within governments abroad and even some criminal organisations, excluding the newly formed Akatsuki. However, due to his mission to find out as much about Hoshigaki Kisame as possible, he was gathering information on the shady group due to the missing-nin's involvement. He spoke in a very deep voice, "They're doing freelance work in the countries, mostly shadowed assassinations and terrorist plotting. My connections don't exactly know what the Akatsuki is up to in the long run, we do know that they are heaping up bounty heads, selling the bodies and getting large sums of money for the deceased persons. However, after the disappearance of the jinchūriki of the Village Hidden in the Waterfall, and the Akatsuki's supposed involvement in the capture, it is safe to assume that they might be after the bijū, Mizukage-sama."

The young figure, also known as the Mizukage and the most powerful shinobi in the entire Mist Country, straightened to his full fifty-five centimetres and said in the same wispy tone, "Should we do anything about our own jinchūriki to make sure that nothing can harm us?" Only eleven sitting around the table barely flinched, knowing full well that the two carriers of the immense chakra monsters that Kirigakure had in possession were currently in this very room. One was at the farthest of the table, one that didn't shiver at the thought of the bijū, twirling a little bubble-producing instrument with his long, spidery fingers. His black eyes didn't look up, opting instead to watch his own movements with curiosity, as if slightly amazed that it was happening. But regardless, he spoke in an odd, slightly dreamy voice, "I don't believe that an organisation can take down one of us." The Seven-Tailed host was a relatively new jinchūriki, having carried the bijū for only twelve years to Yagura's possession since birth, and wasn't in the best of control of the beast. Therefore, he was very overconfident in his ability and could very well result in capture if his attitude didn't change. "Yagura-kun and I have been in possession of these bijū for many years and will not be taken lightly."

"Show some respect, Utakata!" hissed the woman to his side, a beautiful woman with deep mahogany hair, half of it pulled up in a top bun and wrapped in a blue ribbon. Her jade eyes were framed with long, dark lashes, and her long, tanned face were accented by her full red lips. The woman's name was Nyoko Takara, one of the young figure's most trusted mercenaries. She was also the woman that he had chosen as his successor if he somehow ended up dead or unable to make logical decisions.

The Six-Tailed jinchūriki named Utakata just raised his little brown reed and blew a stream of bubbles out the tip, his eyes wide and completely involved in his act. Takara rolled her own eyes and huffed, laying one hand on her forehead in exasperation. But regardless, she was very close to that jinchūriki, and didn't reprimand him further or too much harshly.

Yagura focussed his magenta eyes on Joji and said softly, "I would have to agree with Utakata-san. Extra security, maybe, on him, just to make sure that nothing out of the ordinary happens, and it's nearly impossible to get near me let alone get past all of my own ANBU."

There was some more arguing about that one, especially about Utakata's irresponsibility in the field and the need to keep him out of the outside missions, and that was agreed upon by most, even Utakata himself. It wasn't a huge secret that the Rokubi no Namekuji would rather lounge around and practise his bubble jutsu than be out potentially dying outside the village. It was a huge difference from the other jinchūriki of Kirigakure, Yagura himself, for he would've loved to been out in the field and doing as many S-ranked missions that he could get his hands on, but he had a duty to be the Mizukage, and he would provide that service until he decided that he had had enough of the position.

Joji spoke up again after a relatively quiet period, and his deep voice rang in the room loudly, "And the information on Gatoh is becoming overwhelming. Tazuna the bridge builder needs proper protection if we're going to throw off Gatoh's corporation, but I've received intel that points to Tazuna hiring shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves for protection. I think that it might be satisfactory to provide our own assistance, to show that the government is willing to help our own country. Besides, it would be of great gain to us if we could investigate the matter of Momochi Zabuza, who is rumoured to be working under the Corporation that Gatoh controls."

"Any information on the shinobi that were hired?" the Yondaime Mizukage asked, slightly bored with the proceedings. It was a new lead on what was going on in this country, but nothing that Yagura didn't expect to happen anyway. But Joji's next words were what really caught the magenta eyed leader's attention. "It's a four-man cell. The Jônin in charge is quite the famous face, I've heard, for it seems that Hatake Kakashi is the leader of the Genin team." A collective murmur of surprise and interest rumbled in the room, and Yagura's slender eyebrow raised. But Joji continued, "The names of a kunoichi and one of the shinobi are unknown accompanies him, but the other male Genin is a very well-known name, even in this country. He is the Kyuubi no Yōku, Uzumaki Naruto."

"The Konohagakure jinchūriki? This is an interesting development," mused Takara absently, her mind jumping with internal possibilities and her thoughts completely in outer space. Utakata blew more bubbles, unconcerned. He didn't care much for anything but amusing himself, and so nothing really cracked into his shell.

However, Yagura was very intrigued in the whole situation.

The jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto, was immensely interesting to the Yondaime Mizukage. The Kyuubi was the more powerful of the bijū, and in theory more difficult to control. As most containers quickly found out, they were discriminated against and feared due to the nature of the chakra monsters. Yagura was very interested in meeting the child, to know what he had become under the pressure of hate and distrust. And he was curious about the demon itself, but that was another story. It was in his nature to wonder about a distant relative to the Sanbi currently sealed in Yagura's stomach.

As for the Jônin leader, the Mizukage could safely say that he was vaguely nervous about the silver haired man's appearance in the country. It had been a long time since they had last met: back before he was the Yondaime and the leader of his village, before the creation of the Akatsuki, before Hoshigaki Kisame had went rogue and tried to assassinate Yagura for power, before the Seven Swordsman of the Hidden Mist had disbanded and were still united, before Uchiha Itachi had killed his Clan, before the peace treaty between Kirigakure and Konohagakure had been issued, and before Yagura had been hardened and sobered by what the past held.

Yes, Yagura remembered Hatake Kakashi. Even if sometimes it was too painful to remember.


	2. Chapter One: Mobilisation

-Chapter One-  
_Mobilisation_

_Six Years Previous_

"Two squadrons on my right, Takara! We need defence on our right flank, goddamnit! Kisame! Take the left portion of the brigade with three cells! Zabuza, you take the front with seven! The rest of you, stay with me and kill as many of the sonsofbitches you can get your hands on!"

A deafening cheer of bloodlust echoed through the Mist shinobi and kunoichi, and a rush of armed warriors rushed to follow the seventeen-year-old's orders. Hoshigaki Kisame pulled out his unwrapped Samehada and automatically led his twelve subordinates to the left, laughing with glee as his shark-skinned sword began shredding the opposing Cloud and Leaf ninja and devouring their dying chakra as quickly as possible. Momochi Zabuza attacked the front with the twenty-eight persons following him, exposed sharp teeth set in a bloodthirsty grin like a gaping hole through the wrappings hiding his lower features. Nyoko Takara began using ninjutsu to spray lava on the attacking shinobi, burning them alive and laughing in unrestrained excitement as she took them down as violently as possible. The seventeen-year-old's cluster of eight 'bodyguards' used their own water- and earth-based jutsu to drown and crush as many of the invading ninja as possible, thriving in the opportunity to murder as many as they could get their hands on.

The seventeen-year-old, also known as the Horror of the Mist, was the lead of this unit in the small little skirmish between Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Konohagakure. Fighting over political control over a portion of land that was unclaimed had escalated into full-blown warfare between the four nations. The former two had allied in the agreement of splitting the land by the river that divided it into northern and southern portions, whereas the latter two had allied in the agreement of bisecting the lush farmland in eastern and western portions by borders. Therefore, Kiri, definitely the most violent nation of the five Hidden Countries, was aligned with Suna, the second most violent nation. Kumo was just there because Konoha wanted to equal out the odds. With Kumo's cautious brutality and Konoha's insufferable drive, it was proving to be a stimulating campaign of bloodshed.

They all had their famous faces, the ones that needed to be taken out first. Kumo had Akihiro Yotsuki, a black man who was rumoured to be the next Raikage and a demanding force on the battlefield all by himself. Suna had Akasuna no Sasori and the Puppet Corps, numbering a small army of their own complete with weapons, summoning, and a shiteload of poison. Kiri had the Seven Swordsmen, two of whom were present and the other five to be arriving shortly, and Yagura himself, the Three-Tailed jinchūriki. And Konoha had the Sharingan, namely Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi, a ruthless combination when fighting together.

It was the first time Yagura had seen any of the famous faces, besides Sasori of the Red Sand. Yotsuki was currently making a gigantic crater in the grassy terrain with a mere stomp of his foot, his muscular dark skin glistening with sweat and his white hair plastered to his scalp. He was unforgiving and brutal, destroying everything in his path, an ideal shinobi for battles like this one. A good fight for Kiri shinobi, who revelled in the thought of a difficult opponent, and Kisame began heading in his direction with a greedy glitter in his beady eyes.

Uchiha Itachi was a tiny thing, only eleven or so if Yagura remembered the files on this prodigy correctly. His hair was pulled in a bloody, dark ponytail that flew behind his form as he slipped past defences and gutted his opponents. His vermillion doujutsu glittered in the dusky light, a red beacon of power and superiority. Even now, his Sharingan analysed a Kiri ninja and detected his vulnerabilities almost instantly, acting immediately and taking the Jônin down within seconds and sweeping up the dead man's katana and ramming it through the chest of a Suna ninja in a smooth transition. It was truly beautiful to watch, a master at work as he inched his way to Zabuza, his obvious target.

Takara was engaged in a battle with a male Leaf shinobi who looked quite like Uchiha Itachi although quite a bit older, down to the vermillion doujutsu that he used. His name was Uchiha Shisui, Yagura recalled, and while he was not as fluid and graceful as his younger cousin, his form was nearly flawless, albeit more demanding and brutal in its own way. Regardless, Takara had her hands full, using her second kekkai genkai in response to his fire-style jutsu.

Sasori was engaged with three Byakugan users who Yagura was oblivious about. Even though his multitudes of deadly puppets made the Sand nin a force to reckon with, three of the ocular jutsu experts was enough to give him a run for his money as they were able to see chakra networks and in effect the inner workings of his puppets.

Therefore, Yagura, seventeen-years-old and already infamous in his style of fighting and the mere fact that he was in control of his bijū _completely_—a feat that was ultimately unheard of in a jinchūriki host—without the need of other repressive jutsu, found himself staring at Hatake Kakashi as he tore through the Mist nin's surrounding him with ease.

The twenty-year-old's mismatched eyes burned with fire, his left eye's tomoe swirling intently around the pupil of the stolen eye. His bloodied mask covered the lower portion of his face, but what showed was pale skin, a vertical scar that tore down his face, silvery-white hair that was more red with blood than the original colour, and a Leaf hitai-ate splattered with Kirigakure shinobi's blood. He was tall, lanky even, his body a full ten inches taller than Yagura himself. Most people like Yagura—five-foot-one, thin and petite, effeminate in his looks regardless of the tattoo under his left eye that resembled stitches—would've freaked out at such a huge difference in body structure. If Yagura had been a civilian, he would've realised that it was a lost cause and ran for it.

But Yagura was one of the most powerful shinobi in the entire Mist country, with an immense reserve of chakra thanks to the Sanbi no Kyodaigame in his stomach, an extensive knowledge and practise in chakra manipulation, ninjutsu, and genjutsu techniques, and was not one to be taken lightly. So as that bloody Leaf shinobi raised his katana, stolen kekkai genkai spinning in anticipation of the kill, Kirisandu no Yagura's own eyes turned blood red, the white of the orbs going black.

The seventeen-year-old growled in the back of his throat, a menacing sound that contradicted his outwardly calm countenance. Mid-strike, Yagura caught the blade in his hand and felt the sting of the steel cut into his fragile skin, but effectively blocking the blow. For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, Hatake Kakashi with a look of determined resignation in his mismatched eyes at the glare of the Three-Tails staring back at him with a demonised expression. From behind Yagura, water vapour began curling into the beginnings of tails, three to be perfectly precise. There were many calls from Kiri and Suna shinobi and kunoichi as they began witnessing the transformation take place. But regardless, Yagura was in complete control, the bijū in his stomach purring at the prospect of tearing the Copy nin's heart out of his body, still beating with life even though it had been separated from its body.

Enhanced strength and speed in place with the visible sea green chakra surrounding him, he roared, enticing a multitude of cheers from Yagura's allies and comrades at the clear intent for battle. Almost instantly, the seventeen-year-old had to evade a swift round kick to his skull as the Copy nin used his distraction in his advantage, nearly connecting to Yagura's temple. _'The speed of this man!'_ thought the jinchūriki with internal exuberance. _'He was so fast that even I could barely keep up. I need to kill this one quickly, very quickly...'_

The next round kick was anticipated, and Yagura caught it in his small, cut and bloody right hand, eyes wide in the thrill of the fight. Using bone-breaking force, the seventeen-year-old clenched his fist and heard a crack in the silence, and the jinchūriki had to give the Leaf shinobi some credit at his ability to not make a sound when his tibia cracked soundly in half. And furthermore, the Copy nin used his remaining grounded leg to push himself in the air, the top of his foot cracking against Yagura's cheekbone in another perfect roundhouse kick.

The pain was immense, and he fought the urge to hiss and jump back in retaliation when he heard his skull fracture with his sensitive ears. He felt the Sanbi's chakra begin to thread in his face, attempting to repair the damage done by a well-aimed kick, and instead brung his free hand to catch Hatake's fist as it pummelled towards his face. Yagura caught the clenched digits mere centimetres before hitting the exact same spot that the Three-Tail was trying to fix mid-battle. The seventeen-year-old snarled, baring his teeth in rage, and with a large amount of strength, pulled his left leg up and executed a perfect swing kick to the Copy nin's temple.

It didn't matter that Yagura was ten inches shorter; the foot still connected with his head, although not in the temple like originally planned. If he had kicked the temple, the twenty-year-old probably would've gone unconscious and Yagura could've disposed of him quickly. But instead, the kick landed on his jawbone, the force of it knocking his head to the side and the body following in the same flying manner. Five metres that man flew, and Yagura was already forming seals for a water-based jutsu, fingers flying as he advanced on the crumpled man.

But yet again, Hatake Kakashi surprised him. When the gigantic geyser erupted fiercely from Yagura's lips, there was a chirruping that shrieked in the air and the seventeen-year-old knew that this jutsu had failed against the superior lightning style that was famous in the nearly extinct Hatake Clan of Konohagakure no Sato.

Electricity shot through his body when the Chidori touched his water, the bolts quickly conducting through the hydrogen and oxygen molecules to rest in his body in multiple shocks. Being electrocuted was bad enough when it was just a small bolt or static, but having a high-density chakra nature go rushing through his bloodstream was bonerattling and enough to knock the wind out of him.

Hatake Kakashi huffed from in front of Yagura, his chakra already running low because he had been fighting for a while before the seventeen-year-old and his group had joined the fight. Also, the transplanted Sharingan was slightly swollen around the edges, probably incompatible with his body and therefore draining his reserves even quicker. With a feral growl, Yagura began welling up a massive bundle of dense chakra of his own, planning on hurling a contrasted ball of his energy straight at that troublesome ninja's forehead, but the next thing he knew, Uchiha Itachi had interfered and, out of _nowhere_, jabbed his katana at Yagura's injured right side.

The action made him lose his concentration on the chakra, and he narrowed his blood red and black eyes in the kid's direction, vaguely thinking that it was a shame that such talent was going to perish due to his insufferable protection of the silver haired man. Hell, it was a shame such talent on both of his Leaf opposition's parts were going to die through this. If they had had the opportunity, they probably would've grown up to be even more legendary that they already were.

Almost absently, he stomped his foot down in the Uchiha's direction and heard the earth crack in the child's direction. He didn't concentrate on the young one, though, for Yagura would deal with that little brat latter, in response to his cheek. Right now, the jinchūriki was more irritated by the rapid handseals that the twenty-year-old was forming while taking a deep breath. Fire jutsu, probably in distraction so Yagura would leave the child alone. Yagura had the urge to snort at the thought of such compassion; the Hidden Leaf had always been a group of soft-hearted morons that couldn't do much of anything without bursting into tears or fretting over the loss of a comrade. It was almost ridiculous and inconceivable that Konoha had the most powerful forces out of all the villages, but it was of no matter now. Yagura was going to kill this motherfucking Hatake for being the first person in a while who had touched him and _hurt_ him.

In the split second before a gôkakyû no jutsu exploded from the mouth of one Hatake Kakashi, Yagura noted that Kisame had abandoned his advancement for Yotsuki and had faced the Uchiha, nearly two feet taller than the eleven-year-old Itachi. The new battle was ignored, however, when he had to look back towards his initial opponent due to the gigantic fireball of flame heading in his direction.

Immediately, Yagura began making lightning fast seals for a water-based jutsu that could combat the flame in mid-air, and realised that he wouldn't be able to evade it completely. Using a substitution jutsu, he transported himself and effectively got out of the blast range, but not without injury. With wide eyes, he heard his shoulder length sandy hair begin to sizzle at the ends and his clothes becoming littered with burn holes in the front. His fingers were covered in red splotches, and his arms and the right side of his face wasn't much better.

Yagura wasn't superficial by any means, but seeing that something as _stupid_ as a damned _fire_ technique had hit him against all odds was enough to make his rage burn out of control. His chakra flared, a blast of aqua aura exploding around him as the bloodlust for Hatake Kakashi finally burned out of control. He was going to _annihilate_ that man if it was the last _goddamn_ thing he ever did...

Nothing but a mere flicker, he sprinted towards the Copy nin's hunched form, the white headed body facing away, and quicker than sound pulled out a kunai and nearly tackled the tall, lanky frame, laying the cool steel against the older man's throat and preparing to pull. However, the Leaf shinobi was nearly as fast, and his hands flew up to catch Yagura's arm before the fatal wound was inflicted on his vulnerable neck.

Hatake grunted, the light weight of the jinchūriki's body on his back combined with the fight to keep the sharp metal from taking his life enough to take his attention off of strategies to win the fight, mostly due to the extra pounds he had to support with his broken leg. Distantly, Yagura heard a loud, abrasive voice yell "Kakashi!" as whomever seen the activity happening currently, and the twenty-year-old only grunted again, breathing heavy as he tried with all of his strength to keep the blade from severing his jugular veins and eventually his spinal cord.

As Yagura prepared to use chakra to enhance his strength and end the struggling shinobi's life, the edge of the kunai already digging into mask covered skin and making blood seep out of the new wound, a booming voice echoed across the bloody battlefield, "_Still yourselves_!" Normally Yagura would've ignored the speaker and continued on his merry way of killing his opponent, but the voice was clear and precise and without a doubt, the jinchūriki growled in disappointment at the intervention of Sandaime Mizukage, the current leader of Yagura's village.

A couple more of the Kiri and Suna ninja finished off their opponents before the war-torn grass occupants all ceased fighting, most people still in battle stances in case this was a fluke. But the Sandaime Hokage accompanied the Kiri leader, and no one could doubt the chakra being true of the two Kages. Both of the men had the official robes on and looked the parts, but it was the clear signatures of their chakra that gave them away as being the real thing. No one could doubt their authenticity, and no one could doubt the fact that they stood side by side suggested that a temporary treaty at least had been signed, and a huge commotion went up from the Mist and Sand ninja as they voiced their displeasure.

Yagura himself was pretty pissed at the proceedings as well. Why in the fuck couldn't they hold off negotiations until _after_ Hatake Kakashi was dead? Damn Mizukage and his need for money and peace. The jinchūriki wanted to gut this man alive and then burn the remains for actually landing multiple blows on his persona, regardless of his ability to heal rather quickly from the ordeal.

But due to this development, he knew that if he killed one of the Hokage's best men after they had ordered a cease in the battle, he'd be crucified. However, his hand did not lighten up its quest to slit Hatake's throat, and the blood dripping from the cut did not stop. The older man's breathing was faltering in exhaustion and pain, and the deeply tanned Mizukage turned to the jinchūriki, his own magenta eyes harsh and sharp. "Yagura, unhand him," the Sandaime Mist leader ordered, and with a rush of hate for the man Yagura had the _honour_ of calling his father, the seventeen-year-old released the pressure from the silver haired man's throat and dropped to the ravaged grass, his teeth still beared in the rage of not being able to finish what he had started.

"This skirmish has been called to term by myself and the Hokage of Konohagakure, and the other Kage's have agreed to the negotiations!" Yotsuba, one of the most peaceful of Mizukage's that Kirigakure had ever had, spoke loudly, his voice ringing in the uncomfortable silence of friend and foe and dead men. Actually, after all of the ring of weapons and the explosion of jutsu and the screams of mercy and pain, the silence was a bit eerie to say the least. "The hospital in Kirigakure is more than ready to take the wounded, and due to the treaty signed, we need all shinobi who are able to walk help the one's who aren't." Yagura rolled his red and black eyes, crossing his arms and seemingly unaffected by the bloody burns and the aching headache and the intense agony of his fractured skull.

The order to move out was issued, and the grudging footfalls of reluctant shinobi and kunoichi began scraping around, either kicking falling bodies without care to see if there was life or snarling at the newly pardoned invaders. Sand and Mist began helping only Sand and Mist, and the same went for the other two villages. It was slow, and a working progress, but it was being done.

Yagura turned with a frown towards the battered and literally broken shinobi before him, slightly amused at his still-strong expression despite the obvious pain the man was in. He let his eyes return to their original magenta colour as the two male shinobi stared at each other, both clearly itching to attack the other in spite of it all. But either way, Kisame and Takara approached with the Uchiha child and some strange looking man with a bowl cut, massive eyebrows, and clad in blood splattered green spandex. The six of them stared at each other before the Kiri shinobi turned on their heel and left the other two to drag their silver haired friend to the hospital.

The man clearly needed it.

* * *

Despite the nation being poor and unorganised (mostly due to Yagura's father's reluctance to change the import and export prices at market and retail), the medical corps were some of the strongest in the world. Kirigakure no Sato needed plenty of good medical nin's, due to their unfailing quest for more battle and bloodshed. And while they weren't on the level of, say, Tsunade of Konohagakure's Legendary Sannin, they were proficient enough to be able to provide hundreds of ninja satisfactory healing. For once, however, Yagura could say that he almost wished that they were bumbling idiots, because it would weed out all of the weak Kiri shinobi and be the death of the pardoned Konoha and Kumo ninja.

Which included Hatake Kakashi. The man had promptly passed out due to chakra depletion, and would've died if it wouldn't have been for the top medical personnel on his case when the door opened. Takara grumbled that it was most likely from the piercing of the jugular vein in the Copy nin's neck, and Kisame laughed, just as amused as Takara at the infamous man's plight. Obviously the man was an excellent shinobi, but he was low-level compared to Yagura, and if the jinchūriki had had just _one_ more minute...

Yagura's wounds were healed by now, mostly due to the ability to utilise his demon's chakra in such a way that healing was a mere inconvenience. All he needed was a medical nin to make sure his bones had aligned properly and he was good to go in a little over five hours of meditation and relaxation.

The jinchūriki wasn't very thrilled at the peace talks going on right now. The temporary truce called for a cease action, and the various troops were given a clearing outside of Kirigakure to set up camp until all the kinks were sorted out of the documented paperwork for the permanent peace treaty. Therefore, war was currently at a standstill, so most of the Kirigakure ninja were pretty pissed that there were hundreds of potential practise targets in an open field and they still weren't allowed to kill all of them. It was frustrating, and annoying, and having the Sandaime Hokage close enough to assassinate quickly and quietly was enough to make the bloodthirsty shinobi go mad with want.

There would be constant meetings between the two leaders, and therefore, Yagura was going to be forced to sit in on them, being the son of the Mizukage and the more powerful of the two jinchūriki in Kiri's possession. The Seven Swordsmen would be present as bodyguards for the Mizukage as well as the Sanbi container, so there would be sufficient protection in the meetings. It was unknown who the guards would be for the visiting Hokage, but Yagura just hoped that Hatake Kakashi wouldn't be present among them. Every time the magenta eyed seventeen-year-old laid eyes on him as he lay in a hospital bed, unable to move due to the previous chakra strain, he had the most desperate of urges to murder that motherfucker while he slept.

It'd be so easy too. Even with that loud and annoying Maito Gai and the multitudes of Uchihas and Hyuugas present, it'd be easy for Yagura to get in there and just smother him or strangle him or plunge a kunai in his eye socket or even make the man drown on his own blood. So easy.

Yagura wasn't exactly sure why the mere thought of the Copy nin made him internally angry, because just the fact that he had injured Yagura wasn't enough to satisfy his thoughts. People had injured him before, and it wasn't anything new. Occasionally there was an excellent shinobi or kunoichi that provided Yagura some healthy competition, and while getting injured _did_ piss him off, it wasn't enough to piss him off to the point of wanting to disobey direct orders from the leader of the village to murder some random bloke on the pass.

It was about two weeks of tense acquaintance before Yagura was called during a sparring session with Takara, while the other Kirigakure jinchūriki—lazy bastard, for the most part, that Utakata was—blew bubbles in his wooden reed and zoned out. The two comrades were doing basic taijutsu, with no weapons or chakra enhancement, and both of them were blissfully content pummelling the shite out of each other in the middle of a stretch of woods to the north of Kiri and the mountains surrounding the great village.

Any man would've loved to watch the Takara spar at this moment. Long hair pulled in a messy ponytail on the top of her head, her lightly applied make-up still perfect even though she was covered in a sheen of sweat and dirt. She was clad in a sleeveless, tight red top that hugged her generous curves and showed off her toned, mesh covered stomach. She had a pair of skintight spandex shorts on, black and barely covering the essentials, with mesh leggings covering the tanned, smooth skin. The regulation open-toed boots reached just below her knee, giving her shin protection while providing a hard material that aided her kicks and blocks. Takara would've been the death of the hardest man if she ever put her sights on anyone, and the woman knew it full well.

Yagura himself had taken off most of his own clothing in the humid heat of the summer. Sparring with multitudes of wrappings around his body, especially a gigantic green shawl that protected his frame from the elements, could send some into a heat stroke. So he was clad in a black meshed tank that didn't restrict movement while keeping him (mostly) cool, his normal black short sleeve shirt discarded next to Utakata. He kept on his black trousers, but his brown boots had been traded for open-toed knee-highs of the same shinobi make of Takara's due to the nature of their training. If it would've been anyone else, Yagura's steel-toed boots would've made an appearance and he would've gleefully kicked someone in the face with them so he could smirk about it later.

Both of them were covered in a glistening layer of sweat and dirt littered their faces. There was a bruise that was beginning to appear on her brow from a well executed kick combo that had quite literally brought Takara to her knees, and there was a similar splotch of purple and blue around the fragile skin of the jinchūriki's ear from a hammer fist to the head. They didn't play nice and safe; they played hard and rough, and their excellent taijutsu skills showed it.

The two faced off again and began delivering blows and complex techniques that were the usual between the two comrades. After many years of training and completing missions together, the two close friends knew each other's tricks. What really mattered was how they were executed in response to the opposite's own actions, and that delivered either a victory—bragging rights for a week—or a defeat—loser treated winner to a restaurant of the victor's choice. It was a system that had worked endlessly between the two of them for a long time, and it never really got old. The duo was constantly coming up with new ways to show their skills, and after being in constant battles and skirmishes not at all unlike the fiasco with Leaf and Cloud, they were constantly stealing enemies' techniques to use in their own style. It was a never-ending, steadily growing game between them, and they both welcomed it with open arms.

And then they both paused mid-strike, heads snapping to the east as they laid eyes on their secretly watching guests.

It was that damned Hatake again, with the spandex clad moron and another man with deep scars etched in his face. All three were clad in Konoha ANBU uniforms, the bone white armour and black trousers framing all of their forms, but they weren't wearing masks (well, the porcelain ones anyway; the Copy nin still had that annoying scrap of fabric hiding the lower portion of his face, and what in the hell was with that anyway?) to hide their appearances like was customary. Instead they just stood completely still, and Yagura noticed one of the Mist Chûnin runners that led people to unknown places behind the three stock-still figures. At this, they both knew that whatever was going on was important.

But their momentum continued on, and Takara's left leg was caught by the jinchūriki and held straight against his waist while his own left leg was caught on his female friend's shoulder after landing a hastily decreased kick to her head. Takara was a good two or three inches taller than Yagura, so the position left the seventeen-year-old in a near-perfect split against his partner's front, and to anyone who didn't know the pair and their relationship together, they probably would've believed that they were intimate with each other.

This, of course, was not true in the slightest degree. The only talk they would share about potential love interests were of the men in the village, as both of them were, in fact, attracted to males. Takara was an avid and enthusiastic dick-lover and Yagura himself was as straight as a rainbow, although a load more discrete about the people he was attracted to, so they balanced each other very nicely. The two were best friends, almost the siblings that they didn't have by blood in reality.

And Utakata, still blowing bubbles without caring a flying fuck about the Leaf nin's in the clearing, was their younger brother, albeit a _reluctant _younger brother.

"Yagura-sama, Utakata-sama, Takara-sama!" chirped the Mist Chûnin, blushing heavily at the sight of the two of them together in such an intimate position. Neither one of the duo really cared how these three invaders saw them, but they disconnected anyway, turning fully towards their unfriendly observers and standing in silence, waiting for the next words to be spoken.

It was Hatake that spoke first, his voice mellow and husky, a nice sound if it wasn't for the person that it belonged to. "The first of the meetings is commencing in twenty minutes. Our squadron was sent to collect you by order of the Mizukage-sama and Hokage-sama."

For a split second, Yagura found himself being human, noting the aristocratic slope of the man's hidden jawline, his long neck, the single onyx eye glittering with resentment, the hitai-ate slanted over the transplanted kekkai genkai, silver-white hair unruly and wild. The man was tall, with broad shoulders and corded muscle trailed across his bare bicep, but he slumped slightly, diminishing the effect of his height. The arm guards and gloves hid the remainder of his arms, but he had long, slender fingers that had probably taken many, many lives along the numerous years he had been a shinobi. His chest was hidden behind the plate of white armour, but he was definitely a solid mass of lean muscle mass, his hips narrow and his legs long. Even his toes were long; not too long as to be strange, but an elegant sort-of long that seemed to match his overall countenance.

Overall, the man was nice to look at, even if Yagura couldn't see his face to determine if the man was as appealing in facial construction as his body was—although somehow the jinchūriki knew that the man was probably just as aristocratic and haughty-looking as his jawbone and elegant neck hinted at. But it didn't really matter; the last living Hatake was a Konohagakure shinobi, a bitter enemy to the shinobi of the Mist, and besides, it would've been a hell of a load more thrilling to kill the man than to subtly ogle him like Takara was currently doing.

Obviously, the silver haired man's sharp eyes caught Kirisandu no Yagura's once-over with cool nonchalance, and the seventeen-year-old wanted to snarl at his bored expression. So the jinchūriki covered up his glance by saying in his soft, wispy tone, "Lovely that after a full week being coddled by nurses, you're finally able to successfully accomplish a simple occurrence called moving properly." Takara giggled under her breath with an absolutely diabolical grin on her beautiful features, and even Utakata smiled vaguely at the sarcasm that came from Yagura's lips. The Chûnin had to bite his lip to suppress his own amusement.

The heavily scarred man scowled, while Hatake seemed unconcerned with his comment. The eyebrow monster in green spandex with the clashing white armour, however, didn't seem like the quiet type. With a large huff, the six-foot-tall opened his mouth to yell something possibly off the point or maybe even of lesser intelligence, but the silver haired man's hand raised, cutting off his heated words. In that same mellow voice and with the same nonchalance, he said quietly, "Yes, I do suppose killing off almost two hundred of your worthless shinobi was taxing enough to encourage coddling." The spandex clad ass laughed heartedly, while the scarred man's scowl fell into a sadistic grin at the replied words, and Yagura heard Takara growl.

But the silver haired man continued, "But never mind that. Our leaders are meeting, and it's more important to heed their call than to fight among ourselves. After all, what's the point of talking peace if we're just going to disagree? Gai, Ibiki, come." The two now-named shinobi nodded in silence, sending one last annoyed glare at the three ninja in the clearing before preparing to head off into the trees, while Hatake watched Utakata blow a particularly large bubble out of his reed. The motion seemed to excite the spandex clad one, and he exclaimed with childlike enthusiasm, "Bubbles! That's so hip and modern! And a good idea for a challenge! My most eternal youthful rival, I challenge you to a bubble-blowing contest to see who can blow the largest bubble!"

Yagura, who had thrown on his black shirt and was now in the process of retying his Mist hitai-ate around his waist, paused in bewilderment of the speech. Takara dropped Yagura's green shawl to the ground while the scarred man groaned, "Maito Gai, you stupid baka." It was tough to say who's reaction to the words was more amusing: Hatake Kakashi, who sweatdropped, slumped even more, and looked as if he wanted to disappear into the soil itself in his embarrassment; or Utakata, who paused mid-blow and was looking so uncharacteristic in the furious expression in his slanted eyes that it even made Maito Gai stop grinning.

"Bubble blowing is an _art_, you heathen. Not to be taken lightly in its power, and yet you mock my skills with your careless comments! I am going to fucking _kill_ you numbskull shinobi!" The churning of the Rokubi's chakra began seeping out of Utakata's flesh in the form of millions of tiny blue bubbles, and Yagura activated his own bijū, his hitai-ate hanging precariously around his waist as it threatened to untie from the single knot. Red and black eyes focussed on the uncontrolled chakra release, and without really thinking, he slapped the man sharply across the face.

Utakata glanced up sharply at Yagura's short form, eyes wide. The shock had the necessary outcome, for the bubbles stopped excreting out of his form and he calmed down. "Gomen, gomen; I forgot myself, Yagura-san," he apologised, finally sheepishly disconnecting his anger from his tailed beast's. A small, cautious smile crept on his thin lips, clearly looking for Yagura's acceptance of said apology, and with a curt nod, Yagura accepted.

Almost instantly, Utakata stood up, a full head and a half taller than Yagura. It almost didn't seem right that _everyone_ was taller than the Sanbi jinchūriki, even if they were younger. Utakata was only fifteen and wasn't close to finishing his growing, and Yagura had been five-foot-one for nearly three years now. But the seventeen-year-old dismissed it from his thoughts and finished retying his hitai-ate around his waist, receiving the green shawl from Takara and throwing it over his tiny frame.

He bid his two comrades farewell, shooting one last annoyed look at Takara that the female read very well: _I'm going to be stuck with __**these**__ morons for twenty minutes so you better come with me or I'll kill you_. Loudly, she asked Utakata if he was coming, which was ignored as the youngest of the three zoned out again, in his own personal world like customary. So she grabbed him by the wrist and stole his reed.

That fired him up. Technically Takara was at the disposal of the less controlled jinchūriki, so she had to tail him practically everywhere the kid went. It was her job, due to her friendship that she already had with the bubble manipulator, but it was mostly because she had sufficient chakra levels to help him stay in control if he ever were to lose it. But while she was at the full mercy of the easily amused bijū container, she controlled _him_ more than he controlled _her_.

So when that reed was stolen, Takara had to run her ass off to make sure that the jinchūriki didn't catch her and rip her head off in retaliation. Yagura quickly followed, taking the time to cool off by running lightly and fast. After three hours of non-stop taijutsu training, even a simple matter like running through the trees was enough to cool him down. He was hard pressed to keep up at some moments, due to the dusky mist that had surrounded the small forest, and he still had to lead the four ninja behind him to the two quarrelling comrades.

It was silent except for Utakata's angry outbursts and Takara's loud guffaws of laughter, the Mist Chûnin just staring dreamily ahead like he was still amazed that he was in the presence of whomever he was staring at. Yagura didn't exactly feel like checking, because he had a feeling that those eyes would be focussed on his as—

"Why in the hell did we have to come get _him_ anyway?" grumbled the abrasive voice of Maito Gai from behind the seventeen-year-old, and the mellow voice of Hatake said almost cheerfully, "You know full well, Gai. Seriously, think before you speak, alright?"

"Kakashi! Stop acting so hip and cool! Your youthful nature drives me to tears!"

"Your _face_ drives me to tears, and not in a good way," hissed Ibiki, a shinobi with the surname of Morino if Yagura remembered correctly. There was a general spluttering from the spandex clad Leaf ANBU, and Yagura rolled his magenta eyes, vaguely annoyed with the lot of them.

He absently dodged a tree branch as the broken wood pummelled towards his body from a particular nasty blow that Utakata delivered, aiming for the woman's face and missing by mere centimetres. There was a string of profanities from the fifteen-year-old boy and a peal of feminine laughter, and lost in his thoughts, Yagura called out in his wispy tone, "If you kill her, Utakata-san, I will kill you."

"If she'd just frickin' _give me back my bubble reed_..."

"Aw, fuck you! If you want it so badly, come get it, you pansy!" More profanities, and the younger jinchūriki yelled in exasperation, "Yagura-kun, make 'er give it _back_!" A large crack sounded in the air just as they reached the outskirts of the forest into the open wetlands surrounding Kiri, only about five miles away from the village at this point. The seventeen-year-old noticed a tree falling somewhere in the mess of trees to the right of him, and saw them pounce on each other, Takara still laughing as she wrestled in the mud. For such a pretty woman, she sure was one for getting dirty, pun somewhat intended.

Yagura snorted softly under his breath, whispering something along the lines of "Ridiculous" and continued the trek across the muddy grass and soil, using chakra to keep himself from sinking into the liquified dirt. A light drizzle had begun to fall when the small group of enemies had left the cover of the trees, leading Yagura to believe that the rain had been falling for some time now and he just hadn't noticed it.

But he was startled out of reverie by the most unlikely of speeches, and at that very moment, he knew that his relationship with Hatake Kakashi was probably going to turn into a battle to the death, treaty signed or _not_: "Wow. Yagura-_kun_? I could've _sworn_ you were a girl."

Yagura's mouth fell open in absolute shock at the Copy nin's casual sarcasm, his steps stalling from the brisk run. Slowly, deliberatingly, the seventeen-year-old turned on his heel with a chilly silence, eyes wide with anger. The silver haired twenty-year-old and his cell stopped at his abrupt halt and stared back at Yagura with his one remaining eye curved in the only evidence of a smile, arms crossed across his chest. And then with snide amusement, he added casually, "So how does a man come to get a pussy, eh? Wait, lemme guess. You're already a freak with that Three-Tails inside you, but you're a hermaphrodite too? Damn, that's _killer_ luck."

Blood roared in Yagura's ears and his chakra exploded, knocking the four behind him back one hundred metres with the raw force of his rage. However, while Maito and Morino and the weird Chûnin flew and made good sized craters in the trees or the wet mud surrounding them, Hatake Kakashi wasn't that lucky. The furious jinchūriki caught the man as he sailed through the air, grasping his vulnerable masked throat and nearly crushing his neck with bone-breaking force. But instead, despite being only forty-five kilograms to the Copy nin's approximate sixty-seven kilograms, he lifted that man above his head and then slammed his body into the muddy grass, his knees falling to the muddy ground to the left of the silver haired _asshole_.

It was a hard enough blow to break the katana off the man's back and to knock Hatake's breath away, along with that infernal mask being ripped off in the process, and if it would've been a dry day, the mud would not have protected him and he probably would've been nursing a broken back or been dead. But it was raining, and the mud softened his fall, so the twenty-year-old reached his two brown arms up and grasped Yagura's shoulders, throwing him down nearly as hard.

Normally, because of Yagura's preference to fucking men, the jinchūriki would've been pleased to note that a man with looks as good as Hatake's was currently in-between his legs, pinning his body to the wet ground and practically laying on top of him. But this _was_ Hatake, and the knowledge only pissed him off more, so not allowing himself to get caught up in the bare features of the man, they proceeded to spend the next minute or so swinging fists at each other and rolling in the mud, bruising flesh and breaking noses.

The other Leaf shinobi just watched as if prepared to let the two of them fight until the death for their honour; the Chûnin had disappeared to Kami knew where. They would've ended up seriously hurting each other (Yagura was contemplating shoving the Copy nin's face into the mud and drowning the man with wet dirt, an ironic end for one such as him) if it wouldn't been for Takara and Utakata pulling the seventeen-year-old off his most hated acquaintance. Immediately, Morino and Maito advanced on the silver haired ANBU and unsquelched his form from the brown goo, and both of the men had to be held back to keep from rushing back into the fight.

Yagura was soaking wet from head to toe, his entire body and inch of clothing covered in mud and wet blades of grass. His body ached from the scuffle and the tense pressure from his two friends as they grasped his shoulders as he flailed to pound that man into the soggy ground. He could feel a warm trickle across his temple, and knew that he was bleeding from an open wound above his right eyebrow from a punch that had ripped a good gash in his flesh.

Hatake didn't look much better, eyes blazing and just as dirty and filthy as the jinchūriki. His nose was bleeding heavily, making the man have to spit out the blood as it trickled past his bare lips, and again Yagura had to force himself to keep from staring at the man in a way other than utter dislike. It was more difficult than he had imagined, but the Sanbi container had the self-control of a rock, usually anyway, so he just slacked in his comrade's grips and mumbled, "It's fine. Just let me go. I'll behave."

The Chûnin looked terribly excited and yet anxious as well, and he said, "Uh, Yagura-sama? The Council is meeting in five minutes and you are not very presentable. We are also a good four miles away from the Mizukage building. I suggest we continue on and try not to be too late." It was obvious that the man was worried that he would be the one to take the fall for the seventeen-year-old being late and clearly wanted to try to avoid the punishment. Reprimands in Kirigakure were usually severe and left one in the hospital for days, medical ninjutsu being used or not.

But regardless, the Mist shinobi bolted ahead, leaving the Leaf to trail closely behind and yet far enough away to not be associated in the same conversation. Regardless, Yagura and Hatake didn't speak another word to their comrades or each other the entire run back into Kirigakure, and the jinchūriki could feel the mismatched eyes boring a hole into the back of his skull.

It took a great amount of willpower to keep himself from glaring back.


	3. Chapter Two: Dealing

-Chapter Two-

_Dealing_

_Present_

Yagura was listening to the conversations going on around him, mostly towards Takara's direction. She was leading the discussion about somehow getting charges pressed against the bridge builder, because it was against the Yondaime Mizukage's law to bring shinobi of any calibre into the territories without first alerting the Council, and that was something that was never questioned.

For the most part, Yagura knew that the argument wouldn't last much longer. He could tell Mist ANBU to take care of the Konohagakure shinobi, but up against Hatake Kakashi was a different story. The man was a beast when it came to field work and cunning plans, and since the basic manoeuvres of the cells were still basically unchanged since the Copy Nin had been in the country, he could very well easily take them out. He had been rumoured to have gotten much stronger in the past six years, and Yagura wasn't foolish enough to test that out.

Therefore, it was more wise, in Yagura's opinion, to just send a cell out there to give the Leaf shinobi a visit, to give good graces and then reprimand Tazuna for hiring outside of Kirigakure. It was law over the Land of Waves to apply to Kirigakure, even though Kiri was a bit farther away from the village where Tazuna was currently residing, a little seaside place called Ogaki. Konoha was closer, but it was law to get shinobi from Kiri, and so Takara was adamant about getting him charged.

"Silence," Yagura finally whispered in his soft, wispy voice that made every arguing tone die immediately. It was obvious that the situation was getting out of hand, and the jinchuriki was just plain annoyed with hearing it. With a raise of his head in a show of superiourity that had been well-earned, he continued with sharp words, "I don't want the bridge builder in more trouble than need be, for he is creating a bridge that will get rid of Gatoh in the port cities. I would normally be very much inclined to send ANBU out for the Konohagakure cell, but as the Jônin in charge is..." Here, Yagura took a hesitant pause that was barely noticeable, unless the people looking for it knew what they were looking for, but he forced himself to continue on even though the name stung his tongue with something bitter. "...Hatake Kakashi, I know that it would be pointless as he could neutralise our forces after a battle that would be fatal to Kiri shinobi. Although it pains me to admit it, we have to be diplomatic here, because the Copy nin is one of the most influential shinobi in the Fire Country, and we can't break the peace between that nation for something so trivial."

"So what do you suggest?" questioned one of the Council members on the end. Every eye was trained on the young Mizukage, waiting for orders that only the jinchuriki could give, and for a moment, the twenty-three-year-old thought about exactly what he wanted to convey.

Yagura finally said quietly, "I believe we should deploy a cell of our own to deliver Tazuna a warning, and we should attempt to have an analyst fully investigate the Kyuubi jinchuriki. We need as much information about Konoha's weapon for military intelligence purposes, and this would be an opportune time to do so."

"Do you have anyone in mind for the cell?" asked Joji, his big pine green eyes narrowed in thought.

"I want Takara on this," Yagura said immediately, which made his auburn haired best friend grin and whisper an almost silent "Yes!" in response. Of course she would be excited; she might've extremely hated Hatake Kakashi six years ago, but after seven months of being around the man during the first peace talks, she had unwillingly grown to enjoy the man's company. Yes, she had fought with him more than most people would like to admit, but she had still grudgingly liked Hatake and had eventually grown to know him as a somewhat-friend.

But regardless, Yagura and Utakata both knew the two _real_ reasons behind her enthusiasm of heading to the Wave Country, and it could be summed up with two people: Yagura himself and Uchiha Itachi.

Yagura because of Hatake Kakashi's arrival in Mist Territory, and Itachi because of Uchiha Sasuke. And if there was one thing that Kirisandu no Yagura knew about Nyoko Takara, it was her unfailing tendency to meddle in things she didn't belong in.

The jinchuriki knew that before the cell deployed, he'd have to have a nice, _long_ talk with her, but he forced himself to push the thought to the back of his mind as he continued, "I want her as Captain, and as for the other three, I want a hunter-nin there to dispose of Zabuza's body if he decides to turn up, and we also need two ANBU members that can see through his Demon Mist jutsu. We might have a confrontation with him and it'll be easier if we have good shinobi that can effectively combat him."

The Council nodded their agreement and began talking about shinobi that were qualified to go on the mission that would probably be an A-ranked job. A couple of names came up, and eventually, Yagura was satisfied with the cell that would be deploying. He adjourned the meeting with his soft voice and everyone in the room began heading out.

Takara followed him out of the room, leaving Utakata to his own devices that probably had to do with bubble blowing on top of the observation tower, but they didn't speak until they were in her living quarters, with the necessary genjutsu traps in place and the door locked, all ten locks included.

Sitting on her bed, Yagura said softly, "I know why you are doing this, Takara. I know why you're so desperate to go to Ogaki and deal with Tazuna. But I beg of you, as one friend to another, please do not make this more complicated than it already is. I don't want to deal with the Land of Fire because of some ridiculous notion you come up with, and I don't want to deal with..._him_. I want you to deal with Tazuna, I want you to access Uzumaki Naruto's capabilities as a jinchuriki, and I want this done strictly professional with no room for small talk or error. Do you understand me?"

She just stared at the twenty-three-year-old with a blank expression on her face, but her jade eyes were filled with emotions that Yagura couldn't comprehend...or rather, didn't _want_ to comprehend. But even after a couple of minutes, she said, "You don't want to meet the jinchuriki yourself, then? Even if you do not come, I could arrange for them to be—"

"Absolutely not, Takara. I do not want..._him_ in my building."

Her face twisted in a grimace, and she heatedly replied, "You can't even say his name, Yagura! It only tells me what I know is true, and I think both of you need to come to terms with this—"

"Get out," Yagura hissed, his eyes flashing a different colour, and Takara shot back, "You might own this building, but this is still my flat. _You_ get out." And just like that, both of the friends smiled softly and then laid down side-by-side on her large bed, staring sightlessly at the aqua ceiling. Yagura could hear her heartbeat, and he matched his to her tempo, then matched his breathing with hers and the lazy rush of her breaths. It calmed down his mood, and he felt the Sanbi's chakra leave his eyes, changing them back to their normal magenta.

Soon, though, Takara spoke. "Yagura, I know that you're trying to deny it, and I'm sure he is too, but I can tell just by the way that you have acted since he left that it took a lot out of you when the peace treaty went bad. I know that you are attempting with everything you have inside of you to convince yourself that it doesn't matter, but I know you, and I know that you loved him."

Yagura interjected quietly, "I never did love him, Takara. He was just a decent fuck, that's all."

She snorted with dry humour. "Please. Don't feed me that bullshite. You haven't dated another man since him; hell, you don't even look at people anymore. And the look that you got in your eyes back in the conference room, when that asshole mentioned him, was priceless. Yeah, you looked panicked, and yeah, you looked pretty pissed, but I know you better than you know yourself sometimes, I think. I know that you have strong feelings for him, because you always have.

"I'm not going to march in there and say, 'Oi, dickhead, you should come back to Kirigakure and have some hot, steamy man-sex with the Mizukage', especially in front of people. I have more respect for you than that, and you should know me well enough yourself that I wouldn't do that to you. But even so, I believe that you two need to get it resolved. I'm really tired of your moping around, being a total horror in this country—you know what they call you, dumbass—because you're sexually frustrated. And don't shake your head at me, Mizukage-_sama_. You know exactly what I'm talking about.

"I think you two need to sit together and have a talk, and a civil one at that, about letting it go. You have _got_ to move on, Yagura, and deny it all you want, but I know that you're miserable because he's not here. I've never seen you so happy except when you're doing personal executions or on the battlefield, and even then, Kakashi being there during all of those non_sensical_ fights you two would have...you actually _smiled_ back then. Yeah, you nearly killed each other about fifty million times, but you were happy."

Yagura stood up very suddenly and said, "There's nothing to talk about. It's been over for five years, and it was just some sex. You're reading too much into it, so I'm going to let you stew in your thoughts while I start on the paperwork. I'm the Mizukage, Takara, and I can't afford distractions like that in my life. I have a nation to run and a group of mass murderers who want my biju to deal with.

"Which includes your little friend Itachi, and speaking of that, I don't want you saying anything to the Uchiha child about Itachi-kun. I know that you two were very friendly a couple of years ago, but I can't have Konohagakure declaring war on us and Itachi himself storming on my doorstep all pissed off because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. Do you understand me? You know that the only reason Konohagakure is friendly with us now is because we know what really happened with Itachi, and it's a buy-out on keeping it a well-hidden secret. You cannot, and I repeat _cannot_, tell the kid the truth about his brother."

"He deserves to know, Yagura," Takara huffed. "The brat deserves to know what Itachi-kun did for his village. And he needs to hear the stories about Itachi back when he didn't have to deal with all of the honour and justice bullcrap that he dealt with when he was fourteen. I could tell that brat some stories about his brother that would make even your dead old man laugh his ass off in his grave, and I think that it's important for the Uchiha brat to hear that stuff before he loses sight of what a good person his brother really is." She paused for a second, lost in a distant memory, and then continued, "Kami-sama, that kid was so much fun, and I was sad to see him go. And I'll freely admit that if I seen him on the street, I'd probably buy him a dango or something; everyone knows how much he loves them."

Itachi and Takara, despite their age differences, had hit it off within weeks of first seeing each other on the battlefield. It had been widely known at the time that Itachi and Takara spent more time coming up with diabolical plans—usually with Yagura or Kakashi in the crossfire—to execute on whomever they deemed _worthy_ of their evil pranks. However, with the years, Konohagakure for the most part had forgotten what a good kid he had been at eleven, and while some people in Kirigakure remembered quite well what kind-of pranks they would pull together, it was ultimately not talked about.

They were in a period of peace just because Itachi had fled to Kirigakure directly after the massacre and had told Takara and Yagura, the very new Mizukage at that time, what had happened, in which they had both travelled to Konohagakure and nearly butchered the Sandaime Hokage for the crime. In response for their secrecy, which they were going to provide anyway for Itachi's sake as he had pleaded with them, the two nations entered their peace, and it was still hanging on a shaking piece of string. It was the only think keeping the two nations from declaring war on each other.

But Yagura just shook his head and repeated, "Do not make this more complicated than it needs to be. Get there, complete your mission in a week, two tops, and be professional. Don't fail me, Takara. You'll get the scroll tomorrow."

And he walked out with a swish of his robes.


End file.
